Improvement



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATI-IANIEL COLVER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Specication forn|in, r part of Letters Patent N 38,83 l, dated Juno 9, 1F63.

To au whom [t: may concern.-

le it known that l, NA'rnriiviEL COLVER, a resident of the city of Chica-go, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented and made certain new and useful improvements in draining rivers, swamps, ponds, and. stagnant bodies of water; and'I do l hereby declare that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had'to the accompanying drawing, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is' a vertical sectional View of the construction and mode of applying' my improvements, the nature of which consists in so tapping the beds` or basins of sluggish rivers andother bodies of water in such a nia-nner as to draw oi and divest them of their stagnant, fetid, and miasmatic volumes, and to intro duce instead columns of fresh, running water, in a manner more fully described hereinafter.

My improvements are particularly applicable to localities where there are deposits of back-water27 from la kesor ri vers upon low or llat lands where the same level exists and no efiiu'xion or natural current is afforded to pass off their volumes and exhaust the increasing deposits of injurious` matter, which generally occur in the vicinityofcities or towns having sew tragedischarges leading and emptying' into basins, canals, or reservoirs; Forinstance, in such peculiar locations as the city of Chicago, Illinois, of late years the surrounding waters forming the Chica-go River have become so sluggish and ritiated by accuinulatiug matter and so pestilential in their evaporations as to be a source of considerable alarm and no little interest to the inhabitants of the immediate location referred to, because of the increasing animal mortality, originating. as is supposed, from the causes stated.l

Many plans have been proposed to drain the Chicago waters, but heretofore noue have been deemed suiliciently practicable; butfroin actual experiments with my mode ot' draining it is believed what is so much desired can now bc readily and cheaply accomplished.

The better to enable. others to construct and employ myimprovements, l herewith describe the same, as follows, viz:

As illustrative thereof, in Fig. 1, at a a is indicated the bed of thtv river, and at b is in.-

-dieated the water or suraceline; .2 1.2112 the wall or border ot' the-river. At c c is indicated' a body of fresh or pure water communieatin g with and backing up into the river through a natural connection. (Not deemed necessary to be represented.) rIhe .water line the same plane with that ofthe back-water or river a a. a..

In order to carry ntf the sluggish and stagnant volume and substitute a suiiici'ent quantity of pure moving water at a proper distance and convenient point on either side of the inlet of back-water, I construct a canal of from eight to ten feet in diameter and from six to eight inches below the water-line and surface of earth through which this canal or duet passes, the length of which must lie in a pla-ne and the outlet end communicating with the body of pure water e c, while toward the Water the canal or d uct must depress slopingly downward at a gradual inclination, and must tap or enter the wall or bed of the river several feet (more or less)below the water line or surface. Within this canal or duct-passage is formed a water-tight cylindrical Aconduitpipe, c2 c2 c2 d2 d2. of stone,brick, or metal, about seven to eight feet (more or less) in internal diameter, and within which is affixed securely an upright metal stud or standard, e2 e2, formed with a suitable journal or axle socket.

At e e is indicated a stone or other substantial superstructure, upon the top of which is aiixed securely a journal-box, g; and atff is indicated a horizontally-arranged seitablciron shaft, to one end ot' which is aiiixed securely any required number of spiral shaped blades, h l1I k h, forming a sort of screw, as represented, said blades ex tendingoutwardly from the shaft ff to within avery short distance of the side ofthe conduit-pipe Z2 di, so as to admit of rotating therein.

-At is' indicated a gear pinion-wheel, to be connected as desired to other gear-wheel machinery designed to drive the screw-shaft ffii It h h, the journal ends of which work, respectively, in the box g and socket e e.

I n order to remove the stagnant water from the river-al a a, the conduit or duct c? e2 d2 d, as is represered, forms the artificial course connecting `the river a a a with the lake or body of pure water c c; and as the inclined end c2 cZ enters the river-bed at several feet l below the water-line surfaceb,consequently or surface b of the larger body of water is in' end comiuduicating with the stagna-nt body of there is n greater drnsity orlxydrostatic pressure upon the ow of water entering the depressed or inclined end c2 e2, while the'exit end J J of the conduzt or duet is several feet above the line of ingress b, thus elevating the outflow and ,mptying it nearer the surtfaeelof.

the lake-or bodyo pure water c c.

The operation of` my improvements is as follows, viz: Steam or wind motive power being connected with suitabe mechanism to drive the shaft f f,7 the horizontal screw of spiral blades is pnt in motion at'anyrequired velocity, and, beingincased in the duct e202 d* d2,-

and 4submerged in the column 'of water k k k k, inthe act of revolving, sucks or draws out the stagnant water f1 om the bed or basin of the river a a a'an'd emltics it out into the lake or body of pure water c c, while through the natural connection of bat k-water (which, however, is not represented in the drawing) a eolnmn ojf fresh water rushes or ows in to take the place of theimpure waiter displaced and drawn off through the agency of the screw h h hh, and by this means t e sluggish deposit is caused to move and cha-nge its properties in a ineasre -by agitation and artificial owing, for as fast as the sluggish Water is drawno fresh moving 'back-water rushes in to supply the place. It will be necessary, however, 'to locate the exit of the duct ata suitable rcmote distance beyond the natural inlet ot beck-water, so es to distribute and prevent k theimpnredeposits. from returning. .y

plied for the purpose of displacing vand drawing off stagnant and sluggish ,waters and onus-V ing an artificial intlow-of pure water,` `substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein set forth and described.v i

'NATHANIEL ooLVEn; [Ljs] i Witnesses DANI.. ROWLAND,

JOHN S, GALLAHER, J r.

lower than that of its exit-passage, when; atp- 

